10 Fundraising Tips for Year-End

The end of the year is the busiest and most generous time of the year for giving. What does your nonprofit have planned to make the most of this critical time of the year? If you haven’t started planning your end of year fundraising strategy yet, don’t fret, Mightycause has you covered with 10 Fundraising Tips for Year-End you can get started with today!

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Read on for our Fundraising Tips for Year-End:

1. Set a Goal

Goal setting is always the perfect place to start. By taking the time to set a goal, you can keep your team focused and on track through the end of the year. It will also allow you to evaluate progress and adapt your strategy as needed to hit your targets. When it comes to setting end of year goals, look at any gaps or deficits you still have in your budget and fundraising goals and use those metrics to help set relevant targets.

2. Set a Focus for your campaign

Tangible Impact Fundraising: Help your donors connect to your mission by giving them a tangible impact that their donation will have. IE “$25 provides 10 meals for a family in need”. Keeping it simple and straightforward will allow donors who don’t work with your mission on a regular basis to really understand the value of their gift.

Story Focused Fundraising: Appeal to your donors emotions during the holiday season. Tell a story of a family, or individual that donors can connect with and relate to.

3. Secure a Matching Grant

One of the best ways to have a major impact on your campaign is to secure and promote a matching grant. Donors will respond to the extra sense of urgency and opportunity to increase their impact. You can even offer a match just for part of your end of year campaign, like perhaps just #GivingTuesday or just the last week of the year. Once you secure the match, promote it in your emails, social media and on your Mightycause donation page to make the most of this strategy.

4. Plan your Communications Strategy

Plan ahead to put together a comprehensive, multi-channel communications strategy. Focus on all the channels you’ve had success with in the past, making special plans for email. Segment your lists to target donor groups specifically, especially those that haven’t yet made a gift this year! Preview your emails on desktop and mobile, test different subject lines and always include a clear call to action with a link to your donation page.

5. Personal outreach to Major Donors

Now is the time to make space for personal outreach and direct solicitation with major gifts prospects. The stewardship you’ve been engaging in should inform your ask, but it should be a personal request. Be sure to also take the time to review major donors from previous years, and prepare special outreach for major donors that have not yet been retained for the year.

6. Involve your Board of Directors

One of the most important roles that your Board Members can fulfill for your organization is fundraising. Share with them your plans for your EOY campaign, and give them a specific role. Ask them to give a matching gift, or reach out to a specific number of contacts to solicit a donation. Help them help you reach your goals!

7. Build in #GivingTuesday

The best kickoff to your end of year fundraising campaign is #GivingTuesday. By starting on November 27th, you can extend the giving season for longer! As long as you have special strategies in place to allow your campaigns to work together, and communicate with #GivingTuesday donors in a targeted way post campaign, you should be able to increase your overall giving, rather than taking anything away from your EOY campaign. Join Mightycause’s #GivingTuesday event for special perks like $10,000 in prizes, fee-free fundraising for your nonprofit and free access to advanced fundraising features.

8. Encourage Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Individuals are looking for chances to be generous during the holiday season. Encourage them to start a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and ask their friends and family for donations instead of gifts!

9. Plan your thank you strategy

In a time of year where your donors will be getting tons of emails, an average thank you email can easily be missed. Make your thank you strategy stand out with a video, personal engagement and extra attention. Build out a thank you page that all donors will see after they make their donation through your Mightycause page, and plan an extra round of communications in the new year to close the loop on the impact you were able to have with your end of year donations.

10. Start Planning today

Perhaps the most important of these Fundraising Tips for Year-End. Don’t wait until December to get started planning your campaign. Even if it’s just a few key steps, like organizing your team to determine your goal and focus for the campaign. Getting started now will put you in better shape to raise more funds this end of year giving season.